The Big 3 exploded onto the basketball scene last season during its inaugural season.

Co-CEOs Jeff Kwatinetz and O’Shea Jackson — who is better known as Ice Cube — want basketball fans to know that the Big 3 is so much more than washed up professional players competing in a game of half court 3-on-3 ball.

“It isn’t a retirement league,” Kwatinetz said during a conference call Thursday. “It’s professional basketball.”

Ice Cube believes the Big 3 is a “viable option” for players who are out of an NBA job.

“Se want everybody to look at the Big 3 as an extension of basketball in the summer,” Ice Cube said. “Guys who don’t want to go overseas, guys who don’t want to end their careers … we want them to come to the Big 3. We consider it’s a better stage to showcase their talent in the summer.”

What’s the deal?

There are eight squads in the league. All the teams are made up of six former NBA players.

Games are played to 50 points and a team must win by at least two points. Teams will break for halftime once the first team reaches 25 points.

Players can make standard 2- or 3-point NBA shots. But unlike other leagues, the Big 3 also has a 4-point shot, which can be made from one of the three “4-Point Circles” around the court.

Trilogy will attempt to defend its championship title along with keeping the team’s perfect 10-0 record unblemished. Trilogy will return its roster with the addition of Dahntay Jones.

Schedule

Tickets go on sale Friday online on the Big 3’s website. Prices for Week 2 in Chicago range from $28 to $117, according to TicketMate.